Is a Brinkmann Gourmet a wast of money?

[bigvince76]

Ok so it seems the ECB is not for me, I am hopeless with a drill! I think I'm going to ask Santa for an Excel 20, I don't really need the capacity but I like the sound of some of the features and I want a smoker that is going to give me a good long cooking time. Is there a best place to buy one? Are there any deals or ex-demo ones kicking about? Thanks.

[JEC]

Toby has mentioned previously that he has a couple of used units available try him, for new you could try HotSmoked or Macs BBQ.

[bigvince76]

Thanks JEC I'll have a look at the sites you mention. I have tried to contact Toby but have had no luck.

[cutcookeat]

Hi All:

I just ordered one of these and at £250 with free delivery I thought it was a deal

drew

[Paulemm]

Hi Vince, Completely understand your predicament, and i am sure you will get a few different answers but in this case i think it comes down to you get what you pay for. Where are you based? I have some Ex demo Pro Q Excels that I am looking to move as have now upgraded to WSM's.

Cheers
Toby

Hi Toby,
I have recently joined the forum, and am looking for an upright smoker - I am using a stovetop and its very limiting, I want to move up the equipment scale now.

Do you still have any of the Pro Q's left? If so how much would one be?

KInd regards
Paul

[British BBQ Society]

i Only have the ex demo ones left, so they need to be collected from GU10 1BP and are £150. If anyone is interested please pm me.

[FlashGordon]

Hey I'm in something of the same situation, I was looking at the barrel smokers on ebay - they come from a guy in the Netherlands. Does anyone have any experience with them, or can they recommend something else for me to use. The only issue i have really; well two is that i want to be able to use it as a bbq for cooking burgers and the odd sausage, but do some smoking as well - MVF has really for me hooked and i've made a few pulled porks in the oven and they taste good, so i can't wait to try a real one cooked on a smoker. The other is i have to get it past the mrs's.

Any help will be reallllyyyy appreciated.

Thanks

[Chris__M]

At the risk of sounding like a stuck record, the Weber One Touch 57cm is a good place to start, given your requirements. It is perfect for grilling burgers and bangers, and you can also bank the charcoal on one side (or two sides) for indirect cooking and smoking.

If you really get the bug, you may find yourself wanting to get something more sophisticated (and expensive) eventually, but as a first step, it is superb.

Note that Weber have a few variants, and so you need to make sure you get the right one. My recommendation is for the One Touch Premium, which has a convenient and easy to clean ash catcher, and a hinged grill grate, which lets you add extra charcoal easily while still cooking. The One Touch Original, lacks both of these features, but is otherwise still a good grill, and is a little cheaper. I would avoid the Weber Compact Kettle, as it has a less domed lid. It is fine (and a decent cheap option) if all you want to do is grill burgers and bangers, but if you want to do anything like a beer-can chicken, it doesn't have the headroom.

[FlashGordon]

I really want to do ribs, pulled pork and brisket as a start. Would you recomend a weber 57 over a offset from ebay for the same money? Ive seen a few brinkmann's and some barb-quick's for around the same money.

[Steve]

I would never recommend the offsets you find on eBay as you'll spend a fortune plugging leaks and getting them to hold stable temps.

A kettle is not ideal for cooking briskets, it can be done but you may struggle to maintain low enough temps. Ribs will be no issue, pork is a little challenging.

Whatever you buy will likely be better at either grilling or smoking. There are some units that will do both equally well (or equally badly depending which we're talking about) but they will typically cost you a fair bit more than a straight up kettle.

If grilling is your mainstay and smoking is something you want to try then get a kettle, you won't regret the purchase of a One Touch I'm pretty sure of that. If you find you like smoking then you can look into buying a dedicated smoker like a WSM or something.